On demand, human cloud platform Instacart will likely have to classify its full-time shoppers in California as employees rather than independent contractors, Bloomberg Law reported. The tentative ruling came Friday in a lawsuit brought against Instacart by the San Diego City Attorney’s Office.
The move comes under the more-strict ABC test for independent contractor misclassification that was codified by the recent AB 5 law in California.
Friday’s ruling will create more uncertainty and fear for app-based drivers, according to a tweet by a group promoting a ballot measure in California to ensure that on-demand drivers remain independent contractors.
Meanwhile, California legislator and author of AB 5, Lorena Gonzalez, tweeted that the “handwriting is on the wall.”
The Voice of San Diego reported Friday’s ruling in the Instacart lawsuit was one of three last week that impacted gig economy, human cloud firms in the state. Separately, a federal judge in California rejected Uber and Postmates’ request to stop implementation of AB 5 while they fight the law. Separately, another judge ruled that DoorDash must arbitrate 5,000 cases over independent contractor misclassification and pay the workers’ costs, which could cost DoorDash millions before the cases are even decided.